


Days Of Mabuhay

by A_M_Kelley



Category: Bandom, Dead Kennedys, Punk Rock RPF
Genre: 1970s, Awkwardness, Developing Friendships, First Impressions, First Meetings, Gen, Humor if you squint long enough, Origin Story, POV Alternating, This Is STUPID, This is what happens when I don't write porn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-05
Updated: 2014-04-05
Packaged: 2018-01-18 02:48:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1412146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_M_Kelley/pseuds/A_M_Kelley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"Guitarist wants to form punk band."</i>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>One sentence. One simple sentence throws three individuals together to form what could be a great band or a huge mistake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Days Of Mabuhay

**Author's Note:**

> Requested via Tumblr by "Anonymous" who wanted a story about the boys forming the band. I've tried to incorporate as many facts as possible :)

It all started when Ray saw the Weirdos at the Mabuhay. It felt like he was hearing this kind of music with a new set of ears for the first time. He had heard punk music before, of course, having been an avid fan of The Clash and the Sex Pistols, but seeing it live was something else altogether. The feeling that had washed over him was electric, coaxing certain feelings to surface that he never thought he had.

He can't remember if a friend had told about this place or if just came here on his own accord, but either way Ray was not disappointed in the least. The crowd wasn't as big as it could've been, but Ray has come to expect that with this kind of music. A lot of people seem to turn a deaf ear to this sort of music, calling it too aggressive or saying it was music for delinquents, but Ray has loved all kinds of music since he could remember. If anything, Ray felt inspired by this particular genre.

He's always had a keen ear for music which is why he took up the guitar. Ray held Syd Barrett in high regards as his inspiration for learning the guitar, but he could never seem to find his niche. There was that brief period in which Ray was in a band that played old 50's surf music, but that had mostly been unfulfilling for him. Not because of the genre, Ray loved surf music, but because the attitude had felt all wrong.

But this attitude... The way chords just seemed to clash into one another was something new and it had awakened feelings deep inside of Ray. Feelings he didn't know how to cater to properly. There were no rules for this type of music and you could make it sound like so many things. It was the ultimate form of expression and Ray was hooked.

And he knew just what to do.

The next day, Ray went around to run an ad in the newspaper. It was a very cheap and unpopular newspaper, then again it felt like the perfect place to run such an ad. Ray had put the ad in the newspaper in hopes that someone with an open mind would respond to it. Ray was looking for a certain paradigm of people and if this failed then he had no clue what he'd do.

To be honest, he wasn't expecting anyone to show up or give him a call and that disheartened Ray the most. By all rights, it was a spur of the moment thing but all that mattered to Ray was that it had felt right in the pit of his stomach. There was no telling if this would prove to be fruitful or not, but Ray figured he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

Weeks went by without one response and still Ray continued to run the ad with what little confidence he had left. He didn't believe in giving up so earlier because Ray was sure that someone would respond eventually. He could curse the fact that he put it in the cheapest newspaper, but that was not the case.

** *~*~*~* **

Jello could be found down at the record store. He was always at the record store, finding out what was in and what was out, and when he wasn't cruising for records Jello was most likely asleep. Anyone who knew him would pretty much tell you the same story. They'd say, _"That's Eric for you. The day isn't over until he's bought a record."_ But all joking put aside, Jello was very serious about the direction music was going nowadays.

It became apparent back in '76, nearly two years ago, that a new genre had begun to surface and dominate the world with it's loud and fast paced riffs that kicked guitar solos right in their pretentious little asses. Jello remembers the first punk album he picked up. It was Ramones and after hearing the opening chords to _Blitzkrieg Bop_ Jello knew that they were onto something that could be just as big as the over sensationalized success of Beatlemania.

It was during this time when Jello was responding to the title _Occupant_ , but after his friend, who shall go unnamed, made a few references to the Residents he felt like it was time for a name change. It wasn't news to him that his future _had_ to be in music and on many occasions he was asked if he was in a band which he denied much to his chagrin. But, why not?

Jello has always been keen on current events and what spiked shock and awe in the media, so why not him? He was filled up with too many ideas and too much energy in which he had not outlet for anyway. But finding the right minds to form a band with was the hard part, because most people couldn't handle his _rambunctious_ personality. He was aware that he wasn't the easiest person to talk to on any level and that was putting it lightly.

"Hey Al, what's going on in the world today?" Jello would ask oftenly when he strolled into the record store.

"This country's going straight to hell," the man would comment distantly without looking up from his newspaper.

"So, what else is new?" Jello would reply with sarcasm.

But it was on this occasion when Jello came in did he ask to take a look at the newspaper the clerk had been reading prior to his appearance. The clerk pushed it across the counter, seeming to be too preoccupied with a customer at the moment to really acknowledge him. Jello swipes it from the counter and takes it over to a more quiet section of the store where some dim-witted customer won't be asking dumb questions.

It was a newspaper of crappy quality but Jello figured it was good enough to kill time with either way, after all it was a paper solely for music. There were reminders for various local shows coming up that sparked little interest in Jello and people trying to get rid of their old instruments, but there was a section that caught Jello's eye.

It was a section quite similar to the classifieds in your garden variety newspaper, but Jello wasn't exactly looking for a _"job, job"_ per se. Jello wasn't cut out for any type of job that dealt with corporations he knew the ugly truth about. So instead, he scanned the black and white of the paper, consciously pushing each ad aside until his gaze fell upon one in particular.

_"Guitarist wants to form punk band."_

It was one sentence standing up on it's own, declaring a deep dark passion that was mutual for Jello as well. There is a moment where Jello is completely paralyzed in his place, staring blankly at the sentence and reading it over and over in his head. Something finally clicks, releasing him from his momentary paralysis and driving him out of the record store.

Jello practically sprints to the nearest payphone, bumping people out of the way in the process. He clutches at the newspaper and he digs around in his pockets for change, fumbling the coins as he tries to sort them out with one hand. Jello curses under his breath until he finally gets the correct change, slipping each coin into the slot.

He's too nervous to stop his hands from shaking and it takes Jello a few tries to type the number in correctly before he finally gets through.

** *~*~*~* **

It was about a month or so after Ray had met the guy who called himself _Jello_ and since he was only one of the two --the other guy didn't show up-- that responded to the ad, Ray figured he was good enough. To be honest, Ray didn't like Jello at first. The man was quite the character with slanted absurdist views and quite atrocious lyrics on top of that, but Ray knew that now wasn't the time to be picky.

Ray wasn't denying the fact that Jello obviously had a talent for writing and singing, because he did. The singer also vowed to take up guitar as well, but that idea crashed and burned after Jello claimed he was too clumsy with his hands for that level of dexterity. Either way, it didn't matter much to Ray since he could play guitar quite fluently without the need for a backup guitarist.

Ray reflects back on the day he met Jello for the first time as he waits for the bass player, who rang a few days ago, to show up.

_"Did I show up early or something?"_

_He had been plucking away at his guitar just moments before and Ray turns around sharply at the voice as it knocks him out of reverie. His eyes come to rest on the owner of the voice. His eyes are wide and his clothes seem completely out of place, leading Ray to believe this guy must be in the wrong place. But he's not. He's also short, but to be fair Ray is much taller than most people._

_"No," Ray says after a moment, beckoning the other man to step further into the garage. "The other guy just flaked, or whatever. You're right on time, actually. I'm Ray by the way."_

_Ray slings his guitar around his shoulders and sticks out a hand to greet the other man, hoping it will be reciprocated. They shake hands briefly before they part and Ray waits patiently for the other to introduce himself as well. The guy looks around for a moment, taking in the atmosphere of the garage before turning to face Ray's expectant face._

_"What's your name?" Ray asks, trying to ease the weird tension that had bloomed between them._

_"I'm sorta between names at the moment, but if you have to refer to me I'd appreciate it if you'd call me Jello," the man rattles off, grinning when Ray's expression is somewhat skeptical. He decides to cut him some slack. "Or Eric, if you prefer."_

_There's something in the way how Eric... er... Jello carries himself. Ray wants to say snobby, but that seems a little too extreme to assume about someone he just met. The only words that tend to fit are pretentious and cocky, which are all the qualities of a smart ass. Not to mention dangerously charismatic. While those aspects of people tend to get on Ray's nerves he figures it's the best kind of attitude for this particular genre of music._

_Still, deep down inside that sort of attitude bothered Ray._

_"Do you play any instruments?" Ray inquires, walking around to stand by his amp. He crouched down momentarily to fiddle with the volume and treble knobs, playing a few chords before straightening back up._

_"No, actually. I'm kind of a klutz with my hands," Jello chuckles, only slightly embarrassed by the admission. "Not exactly my cup of tea anyway."_

_"So what can you sing?"_

_"Anything you can throw at me," Jello smirks, being cocky in every sense of the word._

_Ray bites his tongue before he can say anything and instead begins to play the opening chords for _Lucifer Sam_ by Pink Floyd. It takes Jello a minute to recognize the song, but when it clicks his face lights up and he begins to relay the lyrics to the best of his knowledge, singing the song almost word for word._

_Ray seems pretty impressed by Jello so far, but he isn't entirely convinced just yet. Ray plays a few more songs and the result is the same as before. Jello is far too keen and it's way too good to be true, but it becomes apparent that despite Jello's cocky attitude he is obviously the perfect fit. That and there's also the fact that Jello is the only one who actually showed up._

_"So you're a fan of Pink Floyd?" Jello asks rhetorically, observing Ray's style of guitar play after they get through a few songs. "I can tell. You sorta have a Syd Barrett-like quality to your sound."_

_Ray wasn't sure if Jello was sucking up or being genuine... either way it worked._

There's a knock against the side of the wall, and both Ray and Jello look over to the genesis of the meek tap of knuckles. Their attention is cast over to a man who is poking his head around the opening of the garage and scanning the place for any sign of familiarity. He carries a bass over one shoulder and an amp in his left hand, looking as if he'd love nothing more than to set it down.

"Klaus, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Klaus says hesitantly, taking that as an invitation and walking in to set his equipment down with a sigh. "Sorry I was late. I had a little trouble finding the place."

"I'm Ray, and this is Eric," Ray introduces, hooking a thumb over in the singer's general direction. "But he prefers it if you call him Jello."

"Right on," Klaus smiles, nodding over at Jello to acknowledge him.

"So, I take it you aren't from around here?" Ray inquires curiously, observing Klaus' previous excuse for being late. Klaus gives him a funny look as Ray explains himself further. "You don't seem familiar with the neighborhood."

"Oh, yeah. I've been traveling along the east coast for a while actually... Can I start hooking up?" Ray nods silently as Klaus sets up his amp and bass.

"What were you doing all the way over there?" Jello pipes up, making himself a part of the conversation as well.

"I was playing with this band, but after a while being in a group of white guys who only play R & B can get a little tacky," Klaus chuckles, stopping only to clean his glasses.

Ray liked Klaus right away. He seemed pretty easy going and it looked as though he had a sense of humor as well as a good dose of humility. Klaus was just the kind of person Ray was hoping to run into through this whole ordeal and he hoped against hope that he was good at playing the bass. Having experience didn't necessarily mean you were any good, after all.

"I was really excited when I came across your ad," Klaus professes to Ray, sitting down so they can shoot the shit for a moment. "You couldn't have picked a more shitty newspaper to run it in though, huh?"

This remark makes Ray smile and perhaps blush a little much to his embarrassment for picking something of crappy quality in all his haste. It makes Jello outright laugh hysterically at the veracity of the statement nearly to the point where he's falling over in his chair.

"Yeah, right... I thought the paper was gonna crumble in my hands," Jello adds, bringing all three of them together in boisterous laughter.

"Yes... _Ha, ha, ha..._ Ray's a moron for putting an ad in the worst possible piece of shit paper ever," Ray mocks mirthlessly as Klaus and Jello continue to cackle like a couple of hyenas. "Can we play something now?"

Ray pretended to be irritated but deep down inside he was silently elated that the ice was breaking smoothly between all of them. If they couldn't get along then there was no way they could make it as a band. Both Jello and Klaus complied to Ray's request and began to stand up. Klaus slung his bass over his shoulders as Ray did the same with his guitar while Jello cleared his throat a few times.

"What can you play?" Ray asks Klaus, looking at him with expectant blue eyes that seemed more alert than before.

"I dunno," Klaus answers slowly, looking between Ray and Jello for any hint of an idea and getting none. "Uh, Peggy Sue?"

Ray nods, gaze shifting over to Jello who seems to agree with Klaus' choice as well. Ray's fingers and hands are poised along the neck of his guitar in all the right places as he let's Klaus pluck a few strings to warm up. Klaus counts in slowly as him and Ray begin to play the right notes with Jello following in soon after with the vocals. The way they seem to play off of each other is as electric as the show Ray saw nearly two months ago and as they progress further into _Peggy Sue_ , Ray knows they're onto something either brilliant or questionably bad. But it doesn't seem to matter.

Because Ray is sure Jello and Klaus feel it too.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if this wasn't exactly what you pictured it to be. I feel like I sorta deviated from the prompt a little... I'm sorry. I tried -_-


End file.
